Every week that I have been here in Grand Rapids at 4 o'clock on a Tuesday I have attended an AA group for Methodist pastors. Actually that is not true, and is actually disrespectful to both AA groups and this particular group of fellow pastors, but it is the only analogy I can use for those who have never participated in such a group. An initiative of the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship and inspired by the original classes and bands of Wesleyan Methodism, Covenant Accountability Groups for disciples exist in various forms across the US. Each has a formal agreed covenant which they repeat at the beginning of each meeting. I tried to memorise the covenant of this group, but failed miserably, (except for where it says that they have the form and seek the power of religion, a reversal of Wesley's classic fear), but here are a few other examples. In the meeting each member formally checks in and shares their joys and concerns, ranging across their spiritual, mental ...
Dialogues, monologues, sketches, poems, rants, theological and liturgical bits and bobs and miscellaneous other verbal doodles...